Microsoft Files Lawsuit Against DVR maker TiVo

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software company, has sided with AT&T and slapped a patent infringement lawsuit on TiVo Inc., accusing it of stealing digital video recording technology. The technology covers the purchasing and delivering video and the ability to display programming information.

The lawsuit, which was filed in a San Francisco Federal Court, is being looked upon as Microsoft’s attempt to countersue TiVo’s lawsuit against AT&T, which is the largest customer of Microsoft’s internet video platform.

Microsoft and AT&T have shared long-standing business bonds and when AT&T decided to offer internet-based TV services to its customers, it turned to Microsoft for developing video delivery platform and digital video recording technology.

The representatives of the Redmond based software giant said that the company is willing to negotiate licensing agreements with TiVo in order to resolve the situation.

However, TiVo declared that the lawsuit filed by Microsoft had no bearing on its ongoing legal battle with AT&T, which has been accused of illegally using TiVo’s TV ‘time warping’ technology in its digital video recorders.

TiVo, commenting on the latest lawsuit filed by Microsoft, said in a statement that “These actions are part of a legal strategy to defend AT&T. We remain confident in our position that AT&T will be found to infringe on the TiVo patents asserted.”

Our Comments

Microsoft has fingers in a number of pies and the alliance with AT&T has been one of the lesser known ones. Still, the lawsuit with TiVo might be a sign that the Redmond giant is seriously considering stepping up the gear in the US entertainment sector.